This application incorporates by reference Taiwan application Serial No. 90215463, filed Sep. 07, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a power switch apparatus equipped in a personal digital assistant (PDA), particularly to a power switch apparatus capable of preventing the loss of data due to accidentally turning off the power.
2. Description of the Related Art
The personal digital assistant (PDA) has been popular in the market owing to the characteristics of convenience and portability. More and more people select PDAs to replace notebooks, calendar books, and address books. However, a session of using the PDA is often interrupted by turning off the power switch unintentionally because the power switch is installed on the surface of the PDA. This interruption can cause the lost of unsaved data and frustration for the user. The said power switch design allows the user to turn on the PDA by simply pushing the power switch. However such configurations increase the probability of erroneously turning off the power switch and ending the session before the user is prepared to do so.
From the above description, the conventional configuration of the power switch needs to be revised to prevent unintentionally turning off the power switch and causing the accidental loss of data.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a power switch apparatus with one-step turning-on and two-step turning-off operations. Another object of the present invention is to provide a power switch apparatus capable of preventing the loss of data caused by unintentionally turning off the power switch apparatus.
The power switch apparatus of the present invention is applicable in an electronic product comprising a switch device capable of being switched between the ON and OFF conditions. The power switch apparatus comprises an active element and a flexible arm. The active element installed inside the electronic product comprises a first connector and is coupled to the switch device. The ON and OFF conditions of the switch device correspond to the different positions of the active element along a first direction. The flexible arm installed inside the electronic product comprises a fixer, a contactor, and a second connector. The fixer is positioned at one end of the flexible arm and is connected to the housing of the electronic product. The contactor is positioned at the other end of the flexible arm and is able to move along a second direction. The second connector is used to clip with the first connector at the ON condition.
When the power switch apparatus is at the OFF condition, the active element moves along the first direction and the first connector slides over the second connector. At the same time, the active element promotes the shifting of the switch device until the power switch apparatus is changed to the ON condition. The active element is not able to move due to the locking relation between the first connector and the second connector. If the power switch apparatus is changed to the OFF condition, the flexible arm will be deformed by the pushing of the contactor. Therefore, the locking relation between the first connector and the second connector is released and the active element promotes the shifting of the switch device.